The Herb Gardener

When we lived in the Sierra Foothills, gardening at all was a huge challenge. Either you built 12ft high cages around your garden (very pricey, to say the least), or you nurtured your plants right up to just before harvest time when the deer would make a feast of them. After doing without a garden for some years, there came a time when I could bear it no longer, but still didn’t have the money for the fencing needed for vegetable gardening.

Somewhere in there I realized that medicinal herbs were almost without exception plants that deer didn’t like to eat. And so, my adventures with growing herbs began. I learned so much! Now, I always say the deer planted it for me. It was nice being able to watch the deer and enjoy their quiet ways without worrying about my garden, too.

Since that time, I have always had herbs in the garden, though now I tend more toward the tastier culinary herbs since deer are no longer our constant companions. I’ve been looking for as many years for at least one book to share with you that would convey some of the joy I have found among the “useful plants” – my beloved herbs. It is only now that I can say I have found it.

Susan McClure’s beautiful book, The Herb Gardener, is a joyous journey through herb gardens in different parts of North America. She takes you through all four seasons, introduces you to hundreds of herbs and helps you get to know them as friends. Pretty much any sort of herb garden you could want, whether you live in a cold wet place or a dry hot one can be yours by following Susan’s expert advice. She gives you recipes and craft ideas galore, too!! The photos will inspire you and guide you gently and I promise you will go to bed at night with visions of lavender and rosemary dancing in your head. Fragrently sweet dreams shall be yours!